A Somewhat Sticky Situation
by The Queen Of Mischief
Summary: Post Hogwarts Harry firmly believes that Hermione and Draco make a good team in the Auror department. But when they're actually on a case, the chaos that ensues might make him change his mind. HxD, rated T just in case.


**Chapter 1**

Her cell phone rang. "Hey, Ginny. What's up?"

"Hi, 'Mione. Mind if I apparate in?"

"Yeah, sure. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, kinda. See you in a bit." The line went dead. Hermione was so glad she'd gotten Ginny a cell phone. Before that she would just apparate into Hermione's apartment whenever she wanted to. As her best friend, technically Hermione didn't mind. But when you're spending time with your boyfriend in your apartment, you really don't want someone popping in at a… inopportune moment.

The whole cell phone system was a result of a particularly awkward situation where she and Ron were doing things that are best kept private when…well…Hermione didn't like to think about it. It was mortifying.

Just as she was shuddering over that hideous memory, Ginny popped in right in front of her. "Hi Gin!" said Hermione, genuinely happy to see her. It was a Sunday afternoon, so no work, and Hermione was bored at home doing nothing. Ron had gone out with some of his work friends.

"Hey 'Mione. How are you?" asked Ginny. After marrying Harry, Ginny always had a happy glow on her face. She'd grown slightly taller, and more womanly, and was just radiant. Today was somewhat different. Ginny's hair looked glossy and brighter, and her face was flushed.

"I'm fine," said Hermione with a smile.

There was a slight pause, then Ginny made a _tsk_ sound and asked impatiently, "Well? Aren't you going to ask me how _I _am?"

"Wasn't planning to. You look _amazing_, Gin. What's the secret?"

Ginny looked pleased. "Well, 'Mione, you know Harry and I have been married for a few years now, right?"

Hermione wasn't sure where this was going. "Ri-i-i-ght."

"Well, I didn't want to tell anyone until I was sure…but Harry and I have been trying for a while, and…_I'm pregnant_!"

Hermione was stunned silent for a moment, then let out a little scream. "Ginny! That's wonderful! Congratulations!" She hugged her tightly.

"I know, I just got the test results this morning, and you're the first person I've told, except for Harry." Said Ginny, unable to keep a happy smile off her face.

"Oh, I'm so happy for you!" Said Hermione.

"Well, don't tell Ron yet, okay? I want to surprise him."

"Will do." Said Hermione.

"I'm off to tell Parvati and Lavender the news. I'll see you in a bit?"

"Sure. Bye Gin, and congrats again."

"Thanks 'Mione."

Ginny apparated away. Hermione exhaled. Now that Ginny was gone, the aura of excitement left with her. Hermione was happy for her, of course, but she couldn't imagine why Ginny wanted kids at such a young age. Wasn't she supposed to spend some time on her career and with Harry, before thinking about a family?

Hermione herself couldn't imagine having kids. When she was a kid, she hated babies, but thought she would grow out of it. Now, she thought babies were cute, but didn't particularly want one of her own. Lack of motherly instinct, she supposed, though she couldn't imagine why.

Just then, Ron apparated in. "Hey babe. I'm back."

"So soon? I thought you were hanging out with your friends?"

"Yeah well, I couldn't stand being away from you for so long." He said with a sweet smile.

Hermione smiled, stood up and kissed Ron. He wrapped his arms around her waist. After a while, his hands started to slide down the small of her back. _Really_ down.

She gave a little squeal and pulled away. "Ron! It's a Sunday afternoon!"

"So?" he asked with a smile. "I don't see why that should stop us."

She paused for a bit. "Well, I don't really have any counter argument to that…"

"Good." He pulled her close to him and kissed her again, leading her slowly to the bedroom.

The next morning, Hermione woke up feeling tired. She didn't particularly want to get up, but she had to go to work. As an Auror, sick days were granted few and far between, which was fine with her, because she loved her job.

She'd always pictured herself being a teacher, or scientist or something, but never the equivalent of a magical MI6 agent. As an Auror, there was paperwork, but a lot of field work too, and surprisingly, it was the latter that she loved.

Not that she'd had much of a choice in the matter. After the whole war, her employers would not have allowed someone with 'her skills and experience' to be a pencil pusher.

She hopped out of bed and stretched a little to wake herself up. After taking a quick shower, she put on a pair of jeans, a green top and because her feet were still aching from the heels on Friday, matching green flats. She pulled her hair into a messy knot, grabbed her bag and almost walked out the door before remembering Ron was still sleeping. She woke him up and told him she had to go. A quick kiss and she was gone.

She would have just apparated, but she wanted—needed—coffee. Plus, the fresh morning air would wake her up properly. She had an odd sense of foreboding about today. Something told her she'd need the caffeine rush.

Once she reached the Ministry, she went straight to her desk and sat down. Papers and files covered every surface in her already large workspace. She sighed and began to sort through the files, putting them away and tidying up. No new interesting cases had turned up yet, just routine stuff.

She had pretty much nothing to do until just before lunch. That was when Harry (the Head of the Auror Department) called her to his office. When she got there, though, he wasn't there. Instead, sitting in one of the comfy chairs, looking like he owned the place was Malfoy.

His cold, blue eyes momentarily flicked up and met hers when she entered the room, before he resumed looking through the window. "Granger." He acknowledged her presence, which was more that he usually did.

"Malfoy." She decided to reciprocate, and sat down as far away from him as possible. "Harry called you in?"

He stared at her. "No. I just like to come here and sit around, doing nothing, when no-one's here, because, y'know, it's not like I have a _job _or anything."

She shrugged. "Alright, alright. No need to get your panties in a wad."

He rolled his eyes and resumed star gazing in broad daylight. She had never expected Draco Malfoy to become an Auror. After the whole Lucius thing in the wizarding wars, it was ballsy of him to try and join the Ministry of Magic. But of course, his academics were excellent, and he was more than qualified to be an Auror. Nor was there any concrete evidence to link him to Dark Magic.

But for God's sake, it was _Draco Malfoy._ She still found it unbelievable, despite Harry having told her numerous times that he was one of the best.

Just then, Harry walked in. "Oh, hey 'Mione. Malfoy." Just because Harry respected Malfoy's skills didn't mean he _liked_ him. But of course, being Harry, that didn't affect his treatment of him. Sometimes Harry was so pig-headedly _fair_ that Hermione wondered how he could resist the urge to bully Malfoy as he'd been bullied in Hogwarts.

"Hi Harry." Said Hermione brightly. "Congratulations, by the way. Ginny just told me this morning."

Harry flushed slightly, with happiness. "Thanks, 'Mione."

"Potter." Said Malfoy, by way of greeting. "What's gotten you two giggling like excited schoolgirls? Go on, share the good news." He smirked.

"If you must know Malfoy, Ginny's pregnant." Said Harry, trying to remain emotionless but failing, bless him.

"Oh. Well." Malfoy cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Good job." He paused, considering the connotations of that statement (i.e "Good job impregnating your wife, man."). "Er, I meant…good_ job_, not…you know, _job._"

Hermione stifled a giggle. Seeing Malfoy at a loss for words was a rare sight. He glared at her.

"Er, thanks, Malfoy." Harry replied. He coughed slightly, then said, "Moving on. So recently, there was a report of suspicious activity going on in Knockturn Alley-" he was interrupted momentarily by Draco muttering under his breath, "_Shocker._" He gave Draco a look and resumed. "A large gathering of wizards, described by eyewitnesses as 'shady', was seen yesterday. It's most likely nothing to be worried about, but I need you two to go there and check it out, make sure everything's okay. The detailed eyewitness testimonials are in these files," he handed them each a thick folder. "Any questions?"

Hermione raised a hand jokingly, though inside she was feeling vaguely irritated. "Harry, can I just ask why _we_ have to do it?"

Harry looked somewhat surprised. "Well, we _are_ the Auror department, Hermione. Our job is to handle all the Dark Arts-related issues. Y'know, most people ask that question _before_ taking the job." He half-grinned.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Don't be a dolt. I meant why do me and _Malfoy_ have to do it?"

"Malfoy and I," corrected Malfoy snobbishly. She gave him a look but didn't say anything. At least _one_ of them had to be the bigger man here. Or…as the case was, _woman._

"I thought you might ask that," said Harry, looking triumphant. "Well, 'Mione, as much as I know you hate each other, you actually make a pretty good team. You're clear-headed and rational. I can trust you to make the right decisions in times of crisis. And Malfoy is, as much as I hate to admit it, good with people. Charismatic, you might say. He's charming enough to convince people to do what he wants."

"Flattered as I am, Potter, I don't really swing that way, if you know what I mean." Said Malfoy with a smirk.

Harry ignored him. "He's also got some history with Dark Magicians, so he knows how to handle such situations better than most Aurors. Together, you guys are practically unbeatable. I'm confident that you can not only get the job done, but you can keep each other out of trouble too."

After this glowing praise, Hermione would've felt awkward arguing about it, and she knew that that's how Harry had intended it to be, the sneaky, conniving bastard that he was. She narrowed her eyes at him. He smiled innocently. "Fine," she said. "I'm in."

Well, if Granger was man enough to do it (figure of speech), then Draco certainly wasn't going to back out. "Me too," he said quickly.

They were just about to leave the office when Harry stopped them. "Oh, and one more thing, guys. Try not to get too involved in the case. You're not expected to go undercover or anything. You just need to check it out, report back to me and we'll take it from there. Got it?"

They both nodded in the affirmative and exited. Once outside, they stopped and turned to face one another. "So…I guess we're partners, then?" said Hermione, trying to gauge how he felt about the situation.

"Don't get all touchy-feely about it, Granger." He scowled.

She rolled her eyes. "When will you be ready to leave?"

"I was born ready." He said arrogantly.

"Fine. Give me five. I'll meet you outside." She said. Before he could respond she'd left. When she got back to her desk, she skimmed the file, getting all the important information out of it. She knew Malfoy couldn't be bothered with insignificant details, so she'd have to remember them. Three minutes later she was done. That left her with two minutes to do a quick _Colovaria_ charm to change her hair. She knew that most Dark wizards could instantly recognize her, so she figured at least changing her hair might help disguise her a little. She charmed her normally wavy, long brown hair into a short, sandy brown pixie cut.

She looked at herself in the mirror. Good enough, she thought. She grabbed her bag and walked out of the building, trying to avoid the eyes of her staring coworkers.

Once outside, she saw no one. Cursing and muttering under her breath, she was about to go back in, when she heard a voice behind her. "_Granger_?" it sounded incredulous. She spun around and saw him leaning against the wall of the building, one leg bent at the knee and against the wall.

When he registered that it was actually _Granger_, he almost toppled over, much to Hermione's amusement, catching himself at the last minute. "What did you do?"

"Well, since I knew _you_ wouldn't, I read the file. And then I did a _Colovaria _to make me less conspicuous in Knockturn Alley. Why?"

He muttered something which she couldn't quite make out, but it sounded like "_You thought that would make you less conspicuous?_"

She wasn't entirely sure what he meant by that, but he didn't look particularly disgusted, so she assumed it wasn't a bad thing.

They decided not to apparate to Knockturn Alley, because then they might wind up in a completely unanticipated situation. Besides, they weren't that far from it. So as they were walking, Hermione summarized the contents of the file for Draco. He mostly looked ahead, occasionally turning slightly to look at her when something she said caught his interest.

Once she was done, they still had a little way to go before they reached. Hermione couldn't ignore people's stares anymore. "Er, Malfoy?" she hated having to ask him for anything, but she had no choice.

He turned to look at her. "Yeah?"

"Why is everyone staring at me?"

He looked at her with a mixture of pity and amusement. He decided to give her a hint. "Pay attention to the difference in the looks you're getting from men and women."

She was curious enough not to question it. After a moment, she said, "Well, that woman over there looks like she wants to cut my throat… And that man over there is going to catch a fly unless he closes his mouth."

Malfoy couldn't help but grin. "And? What does that imply to you?"

"I honestly don't know." She said helplessly.

"Oh, Granger, for a top scorer at Hogwarts, your powers of deduction are incredibly dim." He said with a smirk.

She glared at him but didn't say anything. She tried her best to ignore everyone, including Malfoy and that insufferable smirk he wore right until they reached Knockturn Alley.


End file.
